Two Suffolk Friends

In Short

Francis Hindes Groome gathers biographical sketches, regional folklore, and private correspondence to honor his father, Archdeacon Robert Hindes Groome, and their famous family friend, Edward FitzGerald. Rooted in the landscape and dialect of rural Suffolk, the book traces the Archdeacon’s long, gentle ministry alongside FitzGerald’s eccentric, sea-loving later years. Through rustic anecdotes, parish humor, and unvarnished letters regarding local boatmen, it captures a vanishing way of life. The collection endures as a vital, affectionate slice of Victorian local history and an indispensable side-portrait of the translator of Omar Khayyám.

The Story

The book moves in two distinct biographical movements, opening with the life of Archdeacon Robert Hindes Groome. Born in 1810 to an East Anglian clerical family, Robert grows up listening to community lore—from peace celebrations after Napoleon's defeat to strings of tumbrils bearing Waterloo wounded. After his education at Cambridge, a brief stint tutoring in Europe, and a curacy in Dorset where he becomes the unlikely mayor of Corfe Castle, he returns to Suffolk in 1845 to succeed his father as rector of Monk Soham. Over forty-four years, he restores the medieval church, builds the village school, and walks the grass paths of the rectory garden, offering humorous, compassionate counsel to his parishioners. The narrative chronicles his interactions with local characters—such as crazy Harry Collins, who leaps out windows like a roebuck, and old Will Ruffles, who attributes his cured rheumatism to green pills rather than bodily bones. Upon becoming Archdeacon of Suffolk in 1869, Robert travels to London and Norwich, managing ecclesiastical disputes with easy wit while recording the vivid, dialect-rich stories of local working folk.

The second half shifts to Edward FitzGerald, the literary recluse of Woodbridge. Francis Hindes Groome presents an aftermath of FitzGerald's life, relying on seventy unpublished letters written to a mutual friend between 1862 and 1882. Moving away from literary society, FitzGerald spends his time along the Lowestoft coast, fascinated by the sea and the simple dignity of working fishermen. The central relationship of his later years is his partnership with Joseph Fletcher, nicknamed "Posh," a local herring-boat skipper. FitzGerald builds a lugger named the Meum and Tuum for Posh, buys a small yacht named the Scandal, and closely tracks the fortunes, net-coatings, and perils of the local crews. His letters record the everyday rhythms of coastal life: stray robins landing on luggers twelve miles out at sea, local superstitions about crowing hens, and quiet evenings playing piquet while a tame mouse sits on the table. The collection concludes with early manuscript drafts of FitzGerald's poetry and sacred music composed by the Archdeacon, drawing a full circle around the shared, quiet, and deeply rooted lives of two remarkable Suffolk friends.

How It Unfolds

A Suffolk boyhood The early years of Robert Hindes Groome unfold through vivid childhood memories, from reading Gil Blas to a cook and a Waterloo veteran in an Earl Soham summer-house to tearing his small-clothes on the window frame.

The village ministry Returning to Monk Soham as rector in 1845, Robert spends decades caring for his parish, improving church property, and preserving the dialect and quirky stories of the local country folk.

The Archdeacon's rounds Appointed Archdeacon of Suffolk in 1869, Robert manages diocesan duties, navigates comical churchwarden disputes, and shares humorous tales with literary figures like Charles Keene and Edward FitzGerald.

Folk-tales and dialect A series of local Suffolk stories written down in raw, authentic dialect showcases the humor, tragedies, and rustic logic of the nineteenth-century country population.

FitzGerald at sea The perspective shifts to Edward FitzGerald's coastal life in Lowestoft, where the famed translator turns his attention away from books to build fishing vessels and study local maritime slang.

The friendship with Posh Unpublished correspondence reveals FitzGerald's deep affection for his lugger captain, Posh, tracking the routine perils of herring fishing, weather, net repairs, and seaside companionship.

Quiet departures The narrative closes with intimate glimpses of FitzGerald's final years among his simple lodgings and humble housekeepers, followed by manuscript variations of his verse and the Archdeacon's musical settings.

The People

Archdeacon Robert Hindes Groome A cultured, genial Suffolk clergyman who wants to serve his rustic parish faithfully and preserve the vanishing speech and folklore of his home county. He spends forty-four years rebuilding his church and school, managing eccentric parishioners with warmth, patience, and humor.

Edward FitzGerald The famous translator of the Rubaiyat, who shuns conventional literary society to live a quiet, solitary life by the Suffolk coast. He wants genuine human connection away from pretense, finding it in the company of local sailors and the routine rhythms of maritime life.

Joseph "Posh" Fletcher A young, giant Lowestoft herring-boat skipper who becomes FitzGerald's close companion and business partner. He wants only to master his trade and provide for his family, unknowingly inspiring intense devotion and financial backing from the elderly man of letters.

Susan Kemp A stern, kind-hearted village woman in Monk Soham who takes in the parish's broken and needy folk. She wants order and usefulness in her household, firming up crazy Harry Collins and sending him on errands to keep him out of bed.

In Its Own Voice

"The pike and roach would plash among the reeds and water-lilies; and 'Fish, fish, do your duty,' my father would say to them."

Context: Francis Hindes Groome describes his father pacing the rectory garden's ancient fish-ponds morning after morning.

"A poetical word such as those whose business is with the sea are apt to use."

Context: Edward FitzGerald reflects on Lowestoft sea-slang in his notes on coastal speech, observing how sailors describe the sound of northern surf.

"I do believe the Seaside is more of my Element than elsewhere, and the old Lodging Life suits me best."

Context: FitzGerald writes to his friend Mr. Spalding in 1866, reflecting on his preference for simple coastal lodgings over formal living.

What It's Really About

Beneath its unassuming biographical surface, the book explores the deep value of regional identity, local speech, and unpretentious human relationships. It contrasts the quiet, rooted utility of parish life with the weary disillusionment of intellectual fame. Through both the Archdeacon’s rustic ministry and FitzGerald’s retreat to the seashore, the book asks where true human fulfillment lies—suggesting it is found not in pubic ambition, but in quiet loyalty to a specific place, its language, and its ordinary working people.

Why Read It Today

Readers who appreciate Victorian local history, regional dialect, and unembellished literary biography will find this volume a quiet gem. It offers a rare, intimate side-portrait of Edward FitzGerald, stripping away his literary myth to reveal a gentle, eccentric man genuinely invested in the lives of coastal fishermen. Reading it feels like sitting in an East Anglian parlor or seaside inn, listening to an educated, warm-hearted editor share old family letters and community lore.

The book is not without its minor hurdles. The heavy use of nineteenth-century Suffolk dialect in the parish stories requires a patient ear, as phonetic spellings capture localized turns of phrase that may initially slow down modern readers. Furthermore, the narrative structure is episodic rather than plot-driven, reflecting its origins as magazine papers. Yet for those who press past the archaic speech and loose structure, the lingering reward is a poignant, humorous, and deeply humane portrait of two men and the quiet corner of England they loved.

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